NATO said on Sunday that Canada has promised $500 million to give Ukraine military equipment and ammunition from U.S. stockpiles. The money is part of the alliance’s new Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) project, which aims to quickly meet Kyiv’s most urgent needs on the battlefield.
Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, said that Ottawa’s decision was a sign of long-term support for Ukraine. “I praise Canada for stepping up to pay for this package of U.S. military gear for Ukraine.” Rutte said in a statement, “NATO Allies continue to send Ukraine the equipment and supplies it needs to defend itself as it works toward a fair and lasting peace.”
NATO says that the Canadian package will be like the ones that the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark, Norway, and Sweden made earlier this summer. Each package is worth about $500 million, and the donations are meant to speed up the delivery of weapons and ammunition made in the U.S. to the front lines.
The PURL initiative was started to make aid more efficient by combining funds from allies to buy directly from U.S. stockpiles instead of relying on slower bilateral transfer agreements. NATO officials said that this system makes sure that Ukraine gets “the right kit at the right time,” with a focus on weapons, air defenses, and armored vehicles.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Canada has promised billions of dollars in security and financial aid. The most recent donation shows that Ottawa is still one of Kyiv’s most reliable supporters.
Analysts say that the PURL project is also part of NATO’s larger move toward planning for Ukraine’s defense in the long term. NATO says that the initiative works with other programs that are already in place to train Ukrainian troops and bring Ukraine’s military more in line with Western standards.
As the war enters its fourth year, NATO leaders have stressed that keeping Ukraine’s defenses strong will require steady funding and coordination. As allies try to balance their commitments to Kyiv with their concerns about their own stockpiles, they expect to make more pledges under the PURL initiative in the next few months.
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